Woad & Wool May 18 – 27 2019 Tuscany Sapori & Saperi

Woad was the indigo of Renaissance Italy (and long before). It’s fun to imagine Duke Federico relaxing in his woad-dyed jeans, but a more likely portrait is the Montefeltro’s, ruling family of Urbino in Le Marche, posing stiffly in blue silks and linens. At the opposite end of the social spectrum, shepherds of the Casentino were wearing woollen cloaks, fulled and napped to make them warmer. It’s gone upmarket since then. Remember that scrumptious orange coat Audrey Hepburn wore in Breakfast at Tiffany’s? During this tour on the borders of Tuscany, Umbria and Le Marche, you’ll dye with woad, visit the makers of Casentino wool, cook a coloured feast and stay in a monastery and a castle.